Search results for category: Law/Legislation

In the early 1970s, the Endorois community was forcibly displaced, without adequate consultation or compensation, for the creation of a wildlife reserve. In a landmark decision released in February 2010, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) delivered its first ruling recognising an indigenous community's rights to its ancestral land and natural resources. It is also the first case globally to adjudicate...

The Ogiek indigenous community is a hunter gatherer group who depend on the forest for food, medicine, shelter and preservation of their culture. They are foresters and conservators of nature, and so live in places where trees, birds and wild animals provide them with psychological comfort. The Ogiek have a population of about 20,000 people throughout...

By Farah MihlarFoziye Tayim Ataya, is a Palestinian living in Cyprus. In 1948, her parents came to the country when war broke out in Israel. They never returned. She is now part of a 5 -6,000 small Palestinian community, mostly asylum seekers from Iraq and Gaza, living in southern Cyprus. Having lived her entire life in Cyprus, Foziye now works closely with recent Palestinian...

Yaseen Ibrahim and Jamia Abdur-Raheem are activists belonging to the Kenyan Nubian Community. The Nubian’s trace their origins to Egyptian civilisation in the pre-Christian era. Nariobi’s small Nubian community however have now been confined to the city’s slum areas. Here the Nubian activists explain their origins in Kenya and identify two of the major problems the community faces – land ownership and recognition of...

This is a recording from the Minority Voices conference, held in Budapest in May 2010.In this recording:Endorois Welfare Council leader Wilson Kipkazi is sharing thoughts about the backward situation of women in his community. Endorois women face problems such as the female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriage, domestic violence or rape. Kipkazi is saying empowerment of women is more important than ever to improve...

This is a recording from the Minority Voices conference, held in Budapest in May 2010.In this recording:One World Action’s Tara Brace-John is emphasising the need for disaggregated data on the enrolment of Dalit children in schools in South Asia. EU companies based in the region should also be aware that groups such the Dalits need special attention and foreign business actors need to take...

This is a recording from the Minority Voices conference, held in Budapest in May 2010.In this recording:One World Action’s Tara Brace-John is introducing India’s Prevention of Atrocities Act specific for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Based on this act, any person who is verbally or physically attacked or their property is stolen because of their belonging to any of the scheduled castes or scheduled...

In Cambodia, an estimated one hundred fifty thousand people are facing forced eviction from their homes. Many of these are members of indigenous groups. They have traditionally occupied land now slated for resource development projects. Indigenous peoples are often pushed from their land and given little or no compensation.In Mondulkiri province, a rubber plantation is under development on land occupied by the Bunong. Some...

In common with most indigenous people, the Maasai pastoralists of Soitsambu village have no formal recognition of their property rights. Despite a recent decision in the African Commission, holding that traditional possession of land by indigenous people has the same effect as that of a state-granted property title, the Maasai pastoralists of Soitsambu village are at risk of losing their lands and livelihoods due...

African descendants in the Americas: A Struggle for RecognitionThe United Nations and the Organization of American States has decreed 2011 to be the Year of African descendants.There are over 150 million people of African descent in Latin America and the Caribbean with the largest numbers concentrated in Brazil, Colombia and VenezuelaAfrican descendant peoples in the region, display consistent realities and are affected by currents...

On March 4, thousands of Christians and Muslims gathered in Khushpur, a Christian village in the Punjab province of Pakistan, at the funeral of late Shahbaz Bahtti. Young boys were beating their chests and women wailed in grief during the burial ceremony. Shahbaz Bhatti, Federal Minister for Minorities Affair, was killed by unknown assassins on March 2 in Islamabad. Bhatti, a Christian, was the...

Kucaca Phulu visited Budapest on the 28th February, as a delegate of the Zimbabwe Europe Network. Also stopping by in Geneva and Brussels, as part of its European-wide advocacy tour, the network aimed to ensure that progressive policies and actions were taken by the European Union concerning Zimbabwe. Phulu is the president of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Association and a member of the country's...

On March second, Pakistan minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, was gunned down in broad daylight in the capital Islamabad. It was a shockingly violent attack, but it was not necessarily a surprising one. Bhatti had been speaking out against the country’s blasphemy laws, which are meant to protect Islam, but have often been used to target religious minorities. Attacks on religious minorities in Pakistan...

Christian and Muslim Dalits in India have long demanded for separate quotas that will help address their historical marginalisation in areas of education and employment. In February 2011, the Indian Supreme Court was scheduled to take up a Public Interest Litigation case on the issue of quotas. John Dayal, an Indian civil society activist campaigning on Dalit issues, comments on the status of the...

Carla Clarke, MRG's Legal Cases Officer, gave a talk at a Socio-Economic Rights Group meeting on land rights. The event was organised by A4ID (Advocates for International Development), an organisation of legal and development professionals who work together to gain maximum impact in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.During the conference the panellists explored how approaches to land rights issues are changing in many developing...

Welcome to Minority Rights Group International’s April 2011 podcast. This month we investigate the situation for minorities in troubled Pakistan, take a step back into history to hear about how the assimilation of indigenous people into mainstream society in Canada in the 19th Century has left a legacy of social damage, and travel to the Sahara desert to listen to the mesmeric sounds of...

The video contains the statement given by Carl Soderbergh, MRG’s Director of Policy and Communications, at the 3rd UN Forum on Minority Issues. He points out the exclusion of minorities from the Millennium Development Goals and expresses MRG’s particular concern for minority women, many of whom suffer multiple discrimination. To read the full statement click here"In parts of Europe, Roma face very serious discrimination in employment...

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